


If You Wanna Get Out Alive...

by Obviously_Squishy



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Criticism Welcome, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, My First Fanfic, No Romance, No Smut, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Reader-Insert, References to Depression, kinda a combo of proxy trials and TNGB universes, me projecting my daddy issues lmao, there's gonna be a lot of masky based stuff but it's more dad/older brother, tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obviously_Squishy/pseuds/Obviously_Squishy
Summary: Everything was fine. It was just another day at school. Just a regular old English class, until the alarms started blaring and the announcement came that we were in a code red lockdown. I thought it was just a drill, I didn't take it seriously. That was my worst mistake.(Basically the reader is kidnapped from school and miscellaneous adventures happen) The universe is a combo of TPT and TNGB concepts but I'm going to try and make it fairly original. There is going to be a lot of angst. THE OC'S ARE NOT CREEPYPASTA!
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28





	1. Another Nightmare

I ran down the dark hallway, making a sharp left turn. I didn’t know what was chasing me, but I knew something was there. I didn’t really know where I was either, I think I woke up here, but I wasn’t sure. It was a strange place, like some cursed hospital right out of a horror game. The hallways were long and decayed, faded teal blue paint peeling off the walls. As I took in the details of the place, I had stopped looking where I was going which led me to miss a pipe that had laid on the floor. I tripped, falling over onto my face. I couldn’t stop though, I had to keep running. I could hear the footsteps of my pursuer off in the distance. I had to get out of sight fast.

I sat up onto my knees, looking around, I spotted a room no more than ten feet away. I could hide in there. I tried to stand up, key word being tried. Immediately there was a sharp pain in my ankle. It wasn’t broken, it didn’t hurt enough for that. Maybe sprained? It didn’t matter, I didn’t have time to think about it. I started crawling towards the room, making my limbs move as fast as possible. It felt like an eternity but in all reality it was likely just a few seconds. 

When I finally got into the room, I closed the old wooden door behind me. It was fairly solid, likely just plastic with fake wood texture. It still looked old though, I could only hope it would hold against whoever or whatever my pursuer was. I held my ear to the door, listening for footsteps. I heard nothing. I wasn’t sure whether to be anxious or relieved. Either way, nothing seemed to be coming. I leaned back against the door with a sigh, trying to steady out my breathing. Once I felt stable enough, I decided to inspect my ankle. I rolled up my pant leg, staring at my bare feet. I wondered where my shoes were but quickly dismissed the thought. I had to focus on my ankle right now. I stared at it, noticing the large amount of blood trickling down the side. I felt around, looking for whatever had stabbed me and jumped back suddenly when I felt it—a shard of glass. I quickly pulled it out. The fucker was long and sharp. I could use that. I put it on the floor next to me, averting my attention back to my ankle. Blood was gushing out now. The bright red liquid pooling on the floor in small amounts. Not enough to be fatal, but certainly enough to be annoying as shit. I shook it off. My ankle could heal.

I picked up the glass shard again, the only real weapon I had at this point, then I heard it. Loud thumping footsteps, made from boots. I panicked, too afraid to move in case they heard me. I pressed all my weight against the door, holding my breath and praying silently that they would just pass by… but they didn’t. 

My mystery attacker pounded on the door. It shook with all the force. It was a good thing I was pressed against the door, but I didn’t know how long this would last. I kept pushing backwards, tears pricking my eyes as my heart pounded in my chest. I was terrified. They just kept banging on the door. It felt like an eternity. I clutched the bloody shard to my chest, muffling my sobs as the door shook violently until it stopped. I sniffed, turning to look behind me. It was still. I heard nothing but my own ragged breathing. I stared at the fake wood grain, the plastic patterns did nothing to sooth me. I let out another choked sob, my grip so tight on the glass that I could feel my hand bleeding. I heard footsteps getting further away. A flutter of hope in my chest that my attacker was leaving. Oh, how wrong I was.

I kept crawling away from the door, looking around the room for any exit. There was nothing. Only soot-covered walls with peeling teal paint. It was bright, the only window both too high and too small for me to get out of. I was fucked, but life had another trick for me. I heard the footsteps again: louder, faster, and getting so much closer. Then I realized, he was charging the door. I screamed, watching as the door slammed open and hit the wall. I held out the shard to try and defend myself, but I knew it was useless. More tears fell from my face, my fear producing more and more sobs. I knew I was speaking, sobbing, begging, but I couldn’t understand what I was saying. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from my pursuer. A humanoid figure, a man with a mask. He wore layers, flannel, a tan jacket. His jeans were dirty and torn, stained with a reddish brown. I gulped, knowing it was likely blood. His boots were old, but they looked well taken care of. I just stared at his body, too afraid to meet his eyes. I had gotten a glimpse of his face earlier, or well, mask. I didn’t want to see it again. His eyes were dark, the shadows making them seem black. His hair was dark brown, covering part of the mask. I looked at the ground in front of his feet, too scared to look at him.

I could feel myself beginning to hyperventilate as he stepped closer to me, his footsteps booming and echoing around the large empty room. I screamed again, my legs kicking out in front of me. I waved the glass shard wildly, curling into a ball and staring at my knees, my heart pounding in my chest. I could feel his hand take a strong hold against my arm. 

“Stay back!” I screamed as loudly as I could,”Get away from me!” I cursed at him, trying to make him leave me alone. He didn’t. The man knocked the shard out my hand, twisting my arm so I couldn’t move it. I cried harder, the swift motion causing extreme pain. He knelt down on the floor by me, forcibly holding my legs down with his knees. I pleaded ‘no’ over and over again, begging him to leave me alone. He grabbed my face, forcing me to look him right in the eyes. Fear coursed through me, more tears fell from my eyes. I didn’t want to look. There was only one thought through my mind. A begging thought, my only wish to be left alone. I squeezed my eyes shut, internally screaming, no, no,no,no,,no no nonononononono-

I sat up in bed with a gasp. My breathing was hard and unsteady. I clutched a hand to my chest. That was my third nightmare this week. I looked over to my bedside table. Lucky me, it was only five in the morning. I was getting up in an hour anyway. I flipped the covers off my bed, swinging over my legs and planting my feet solidly onto the cold floor. The shock calmed me down a little. I walked across my room, heading for the exit. I walked out into the hallway, the light filtering in through the windows was enough to see. I walked into the restroom, flicking on the lights. I started my morning routine slowly forgetting about my nightmare.


	2. It Wasn't A Drill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just woke up from a god awful nightmare and chose to just get up instead. Of course, now it's time to go to school, another terrible aspect of today. First nightmares in my head, and now the never ending nightmare of school. Whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Just a little clarification before things get started! In this chapter there is a thing called a code red lockdown. It's a thing at my school that we do and I am aware that it isn't universal so for anyone who doesn't know, here's what it means. A code red lockdown is when a dangerous intruder(s) is in the building or really just near the school at all (even the same neighborhood). Just wanted to clarify a bit :) hope you enjoy!

I went through my routine. Brushing my teeth, straightening out my hair, deodorant, and whatnot. My brain did the same thing it did with all my dreams, forgetting about it fairly quickly, though I still felt uneasy. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. I shook it off, blaming it on paranoia from the strange nightmare. I shook my head, splashing some cold water on my face. I stared myself down in the mirror, smiling a little bit and drying off my face. The dingy yellow light in the bathroom made the whole thing feel very surreal. I swept my fingers through my hair one last time, making sure I looked up to my standards before leaving the bathroom. I flicked off the light and went back down the hall into my room. I could hear my parents shuffling about in their room. At least they were awake now too. Them being awake with me soothed the feeling of being watched. I got dressed, wearing the basics, jeans and a t-shirt. I was too tired to put effort into my outfit for today. 

I sat on my bed, looking out the window, just thinking. I’ve been having these nightmares for a while now, about five or six months. They cycled through different places and pursuers, but often they repeated. I’d seen the masked man a few times now, though he certainly wasn’t the worst of them. No, there were quite a few that were worse than him. Two that really sent a shiver down my spine just thinking about them. One was tall and thin. It always wore a suit but the worst part, the worst part was that it had no face. Just a blank white canvas that somehow stared deeply into your soul. Whenever that thing appeared in my dreams I always woke up with headaches, sometimes even nosebleeds. The other one though… I hated his nightmares the most. He wore a fairly frightening mask, a blue slate with black eyeholes. They were pitch dark voids that dripped and dropped all over the place. I always knew he was there because I could hear the dripping from a distance. His face though, his face was so much worse. I had only seen it a couple times, usually at the peak of my nightmare. His skin was gray with rough texture on it, almost like scarification. His teeth were sharp and pointed, a greyish white, though I usually only saw blood red stains covering them. I could only bring myself to look in his eyes once and I regretted the memory often. It was one of the few things that stuck with me from these dreams. There was always something, for the man in the blue mask it was his eyes, or well, lack thereof. They were just black pits, infinite black oceans of nothingness. They were haunting. Every dream I had something stuck with me, even if I forgot who or what the dream was about. Usually it was a feeling of anxiety, sometimes a physical thing, and with some it was a horrifying image that stuck with me for days. I hated these nightmares. I had told my parents about them before, but there wasn’t much they could do. We had tried sleeping pills, but all they did was make it harder to wake up. All I could do was deal with them. They weren’t a nightly occurrence, but it was often enough to wreck my sleeping schedule.

My head started to loll a bit as I thought. My brain desperately wanting to go back to sleep. I was disrupted from that, however, by a loud bang that resonated through the house—likely my mother in the kitchen. She was not very considerate of other people who might be sleeping. It didn’t really matter though. I got up from the window, trying to push my nightmares into the back of my mind. I walked out of my room, my body on autopilot as I went into the kitchen. My mother didn’t notice me when I came in. I didn’t care that much. I sat down on a stool by the counter, tracing my finger along the patterns of the countertop. I watched my mother work, making toast and eggs for breakfast—quick and easy. She was always focused on efficiency and this was the most efficient breakfast one could make in her eyes.

When she finally turned around and saw me, she jumped a bit. My sudden appearance was unexpected. When she realized it was me, she smiled, wishing me a good morning and continuing to work on breakfast. I gave a small smile and continued tracing shapes. I just wanted to go back to bed. 

Dad had yet to come down the stairs. He had always taken longer to get ready than us due to his perfectionist nature. He always had to look spick and span before he came downstairs. I thought it was ridiculous, but then again I didn’t care much about my looks. I continued to sit and wait until a plate was placed in front of me. I started eating almost immediately. The buttery toast made me feel comfortable and safe. A simple comfort food but an effective one. I only really picked at the eggs. The toast was filling enough. My mother didn’t throw a fit about it, only quietly sighing as she picked up my plate. She mumbled something I couldn’t hear under her breath as she scraped the scraps into the trash. I opened my mouth to ask what she had said when I heard my father coming down the stairs. 

I shut my mouth quickly. I didn’t want to deal with him today. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, checking to see if it was too early to leave. It was about six forty-five—perfect timing. Maybe my luck was turning around for today. 

I left the kitchen quickly, avoiding eye contact with my father. I rushed to the front door, swinging my backpack over my shoulders. I let out a small sigh. I had wanted to say goodbye to my mom. Still, I was much happier to avoid my father. I tucked my phone into my back pocket and shuffled out the door. I shook my wrists, trying to wake myself up a bit more as I started the walk to the bus stop. 

The moment I left the house, the feeling of being watched intensified. I tried to ignore it, brushing it off as anxiety. I had always hated walking alone. Of course, it didn’t help that I had a nightmare and it was still dark out. I took a deep breath in, trying to relax. I listened to the silence—it was deafening. Part of me wished a car would come by and break the unending silence. Nothing came though. I felt trapped in the silence, trapped in my thoughts, trapped with a horrible feeling of eyes boring into the back of my head. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to make myself smaller. I squeezed my arms, trying to escape whatever misery I was feeling. I was about to turn around, walk back to the house and beg one of my parents to just drive me. I closed my eyes, trudging forward. If I could just get to the bus stop! I checked my phone again. I had been walking for ten minutes. Ten minutes out of my total fifteen. I could keep going! 

By the time I got to my bus stop it was two minutes past seven. There were quite a few other kids here already. The minute I was with them the feeling almost faded into nothingness. Not completely gone, but enough to where I didn’t want to crawl into a hole anymore. I didn’t know any of the kids there. Not well anyway. I knew their names, but only because we rode the same bus. I didn’t bother to say hello to them. I walked up to the stop sign that marked the intersection, leaning against the pole. Our whole town was fairly small. Not everyone knows everyone situation, but certainly not a place you stop at on a road trip. We didn’t even have a highway. There were two big suburban neighborhoods, everything else was either farmland or just scattered about. We had an elementary, middle and highschool, a couple restaurants, and some outlet stores. The whole place was surrounded by woods. Nobody lived in the woods. Lots of people said they were haunted. Parents would warn you about monsters that would get you if you were naughty, older siblings using it as a way to scare their younger siblings, dumb teens going in there on dares, but no one stayed in there for more than an hour and came back. We had a lot of disappearances in this town. The vast majority unsolved. I had heard that surrounding counties also had a lot of disappearances, but I couldn’t verify it. I didn’t really get out enough to know for sure.

I was disrupted from my train of thought when the squeal of brakes rang out through the air. I heard the familiar hiss of bus doors opening and turned around to see the bright yellow school bus. Finally. I waited for the other kids to get on before making my way to my assigned seat. I set my bag down on the floor in front of me and leaned my head against the window, watching the houses go by. My eyes became heavier and heavier, the vibrations of the bus putting me to sleep quickly.

_________________________________________________________________

I didn’t wake up for most of the ride to school, only jolting awake once when the bus stopped sharply. I didn’t sleep again after that. I checked my phone, it was seven thirty. Only a couple more minutes until I got to school. 

I ended up zoned out for the rest of the bus ride. Getting off the bus quickly and heading into the school building. It was too cold this morning to wait outside. I wish I had brought a jacket with me, but it wouldn’t matter until the ride home. I decided to walk over to the hallway where my english class was. It was my first period of the day. School wouldn’t start for another thirty minutes or so, but if I waited too far away I knew damn well I would be late. I sat down in the hallway, distracting myself with my phone. The only other people in the hallway were the teachers. Some had their doors open, others didn’t. The highschool wasn’t large. Only four brick buildings. The hallways were painted white, there were no decorations or posters adorning them. The whole place felt a lot more like a prison than a school if I was honest with myself. The hallway I was in had a large window at the end of the hallway that basically was the wall. It was quiet, though the silence wasn’t as deafening as it had been on my walk to the bus. It felt more like a warm blanket. I could hear the distant sounds of typing, papers being stapled. It was peaceful. I mostly ignored that still paranoid thought in my brain that I was being watched. 

The school bell rang at 8:20 like usual. I put my phone into my backpack. Setting it on airplane mode as I did. If it went off in class I would get a referral and I couldn’t deal with that today. I slang my bag over my shoulder, quickly walking into english and taking a seat. No one else was there except for the teacher. It didn’t bother me that much. My teacher was a nice lady. Blonde hair, peppy, her smile was contagious. She said good morning to me as I sat down, I smiled back at her. She was a good teacher to have as a first period. 

Her room was painted a light grey, though you almost couldn’t see it because of all the posters, decals, and stickers that covered the room. The whole place had a very happy, joyous, vibe. A stark contrast to the prison like walls of the school halls. Her room was fairly large, with a door in the middle of the back wall used mainly for storage. Her desk was full of little knick knacks and photos, carefully curated and placed in a way that looked chaotic, but was clearly planned. She had a cork board behind her desk, full of letters from past students. Next to that, about five feet over was a large, wall-mounted television, which she gave her lessons on.

As more kids trickled in I pulled my stuff out of my bag. My notebook, binder, pencils, etc. The bell rang and class started. It was the usual boring stuff. Reviewing comma splices, making sure we remembered what happened last class. All boring stuff. My teacher made it significantly more bearable though, her cheery attitude making it a lot easier to pay attention. It had been about fifteen minutes since the start of class and we were finally getting into the meat of the lesson. Ms.Ellison had started up her powerpoint and was going over the basics when the intercoms crackled to life loudly. There was a piercing static for a moment that made me cringe, it lasted only a moment before a frantic voice came through.

“Teachers and students! We are initiating a code red lockdown! Immediately, lock your d-!” The announcer was cut off quickly. The teacher had a puzzled look on her face, but it quickly went away. She turned off the TV and ordered a student to turn off the lights. She rushed over to the door and locked it. Ms.Ellison quickly turned to us, a calm look on her face. 

“Follow me into the storage room, don’t make any noise or I’ll dock your grade.” She said sternly. The pep in her voice vanished without a trace. Her expression remained the same though. A gentle calm. That led me to assume it was just a drill. I let out a quiet snicker before standing up with the rest of my class; following our teacher into the storage room. 

We all crowded in, squished together like sardines. She closed the door behind us, standing next to it like she was a prison guard. The lights were off in the storage room, the only light coming from under the door. It still wasn’t nearly enough to see. We all had to sit criss-cross in order to fit in the small space. My back was pressed against the shelves that lined the walls. One of the wooden levels digging angrily into my back. I grimaced, hoping the drill would end soon. I stayed quiet though. 

Ten minutes went by and I was starting to get annoyed. The level had dug further into my back and was hurting way worse than before. I rolled my eyes. I guess if they’re trying to prepare us for the real thing stretching it out was the way to do it. A few of my classmates had gotten restless and were whispering to each other. Ms.Ellison stood at the door still, now shuffling back and forth on her feet. She kept her hand clutched tightly around the handle. She shushed them quickly, I wanted to laugh. It was all so stupid. It was just a drill, who cares? 

Five more minutes went by when we all heard it. Loud banging noises. Not gunshots, but more like doors being slammed open or kicked down, maybe even broken through. It was hard to tell, but that wasn’t the only sound. We heard screams. There was no gunfire. Just screams. They went quiet quickly, that was what scared me. I tensed, pulling my legs closer to myself. The back of my mind tried to convince me that it was just a very realistic drill, that this wasn’t happening, but I knew. My lips tightened into a line, I could tell the whole class was tense. No one of us thought this was going to be real. 

I wasn’t sure how long it had been since the sound from down the hall. Every second felt like an eternity. I had my hand clamped over my mouth to quiet any noises I might make. I didn’t want to be the reason the intruder heard us. I could feel my heart beat faster. I hated this. Maybe they would just go away. Maybe whoever it was got what they wanted and left. A million thoughts raced through my mind, attempting to convince me that it was over, that it wasn’t happening, but the shelf digging into my spine made it hard to forget where I was. 

I sat there, tense and afraid for whatever was going to happen next. That was when I heard it, like in the peak of my nightmares. A loud, echoing thumping of footsteps. Made by boots. Whose boots changed a lot. The look, the style, and the color were always different but it was the same thumping. Sometimes the rhythm was different, some were faster, others dragged their feet, but there was always a distinct thumping. Something was different this time though, there were three sets of boots. 

The walls of this place were thin. It didn’t take a lot of noise for you to be heard in the hallway. The footsteps were all muddled together. I could feel tears pricking at my eyes. I brought my knees up to my chest and hid my face in it. My brain was running at mach speed. I tried to convince myself that this wasn’t like my nightmares. I wasn’t alone here.

_ This can’t be happening. It isn’t real. Those nightmares aren’t real. This is just some break in. The police will be here soon, they have to be. I have to get out of this, I have to see my mom again I- _

My thoughts were interrupted by a banging on the classroom door. My panic spiked higher as the familiar sound rang through the class. I clamped my hand even tighter over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut to keep myself from sobbing. I wasn’t paying attention to my classmates. My ears solely focused on the echoing of the door being pounded in. It stopped for a moment, hushed discussion taking place between the intruders, until a new noise came. A much sharper noise, higher pitched. THey were breaking it down another way. Which way I didn’t know, I’m not some expert on how doors get broken down. I knew they would get in soon though. I knew whoever they were would find all of us, but then what? What the hell was their plan? Why were they doing this?

I could hear loud footsteps entering the classroom one at a time. I didn’t listen though. I had to keep focused on not making a single sound. I focused my breathing as the footsteps got closer, trying to keep it from becoming erratic. Another step closer. I could feel the hot tears falling down my face. I kept my knees tucked into my chest.

Another step.

I held back a whimper.

Another.

I could hear other kids in my class make noises of fear.

Another step, right outside the door.

I held my breath.

A knock? What?

My eyes widened and I looked up, confused. I couldn’t see anyone else’s face to tell if I was the only one who thought it was strange. I listened as another, louder knock shook the door. Ms. Ellison held her iron grip on the door handle, but I could tell she was straining to keep the intruder from opening it. I could hear other kids whispering, prayers, whimpers, fear sweltered in the room like a heatwave.

Eventually, Ms. Ellison lost the battle with the doorknob. The storage room door swung open and hit her in the face! As she fell back the class screamed, but I couldn’t. My voice caught in my throat. I tried to move backwards but couldn’t. All I did was shove the shelf further into my back. My hand fell from my mouth as I began to hyperventilate. I couldn’t breath. This couldn’t be happening! It wasn’t possible! More tears streamed down my face, my shirt collar was soaked at the point. I stared at the man, horror flooding me as my face paled. I recognized this man, I knew him. 

I had just seen him in my dream three hours ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! this chapter ended up being way longer than I thought it would be lmao. Hope you enjoy it! Have a nice day!


	3. Fear Runs Thick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHH I'm so sorry that I took so long to update ;-;. I've been totally swamped as of late. I wish I had made this chapter a bit longer but I really needed to update this. Hopefully I can update more over Christmas :))

The class continued screaming, I along with them. I felt tears stream down my face and the panic of this improbability overwhelmed me. This couldn’t be real, no, it must be a hallucination right? An image made from my lack of sleep. It had to be. I blinked, desperately trying to make his face go away. It didn’t. The dread sank over me, like an anchor sinking into an icy lake. I felt cold, afraid. He was real? It wasn’t necessarily him that scared me the most though, no. It was the idea that all the other monsters in my dreams were real too. 

He stood there for a few moments, looking us over like lambs lined up for slaughter. Watching us as he sharpened his butchers blade, hungry for the money that would come from our lives. I could almost feel his smirk. I internally panicked, I wasn’t ready for my demise. I wanted to scream but the more I stared at him the more my voice died. I couldn’t see his eyes, they were just black voids behind a mask. It was worse than any nightmare I’d seen him in.

I knew it was him too, it wasn’t a coincidence. He was wearing the exact same tan jacket he wore in every dream. He had the same boots, the same hair, hell, he even walked with the same small limp! It’d be one hell of a coincidence if it wasn’t him.

It had only been a few seconds after the door had been ripped open before he made his first move. He grabbed Ms.Ellison by the hair, dragging her out of the storage closet. She flailed her arms, desperately trying to escape his grasp, it was no use though. He quickly slung her across the room, her yelps quickly becoming muffled by some unseen force. I hoped she hadn’t hit her head on anything. I tried shifting to see her but my vision was blocked by the man in the doorway. I could hear footsteps though, heavy ones, ones that come from unfamiliar boots. 

The other kids in the closet had stopped screaming, some were crying, other pleadings, a silent prayer whispered through them, a hope that they would survive without injury. I couldn’t do any of that though. All I could do was stare at the man. I wish I could’ve seen his eyes, to find what he was doing. Eyes say a lot about a person, their intent, their feelings, their actions. There was nothing though, just black voids in a white sheet. He looked at all of us and held up his hand, holding up two or three fingers, it was hard to tell from the tears blurring my vision.  
It didn’t really matter though, it was obviously a signal to whoever else was in the room. That was when it started. The lights flickered on and off like crazy as he started reaching for all of us. He grabbed my classmates by the arms, dragging them out of the closet and throwing them to whatever partners were in the room with him. I was in the back corner of the closet, desperately wishing I could crawl back into my own skin and just disappear. The masked man worked his way into the closet, throwing out kids as he went. He was unnaturally strong, throwing them as if they were nothing. 

It felt like an eternity as I stared at him, the air in my chest constricting into a tight ball. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. All I could do was watch as the man reached out towards me, grabbing my arm tightly. I couldn’t even summon the air to scream. I tried to scoot back as he pulled me up to my feet. I resisted as much as I could, dragging my heels behind me in a desperate attempt to stay in the closet. My efforts were futile though, he was far stronger than me, all I really did was annoy him. It was obvious from the low growl he gave. He dragged me completely out of the closet, though instead of throwing me to whoever else was in the room he dragged me to the wall himself. 

I could barely think as he slammed my head into the wall. More tears streamed from my eyes as he crouched in front of me. The masked man pulled a zip tie from his pocket and my eyes widened in fear. No, nonono don’t touch me, please. I cried harder, holding back my sobs as he grabbed my wrists, tying them together with two different zip ties. I could’ve broken them if I was thinking clearly enough, but I wasn’t. All I could do was watch the man put a finger to the lips of the mask, telling me to be quiet. He put a hand on my face, using a thumb to wipe away some of my tears. I thought my heart would stop from fear. I drew my lips into a thin line as he stood up, more tears falling from my eyes. I pulled my knees close to my chest, wishing this was just another nightmare. Praying that I was still on the bus sleeping peacefully, but I wasn't. this really was happening, oh god- why?

As the masked man walked away from me my eyes followed him, my brain far too afraid to let him out of my sight. It was difficult to see now though, the lights were out completely. The only source of light was from a high window on the wall, which didn’t do much. The man walked over to his companions, there were two of them. One in a mustard yellow hoodie, his face obscured by some kind of cloth mask, there was some sort of detail on it I couldn’t see because of the low lighting. I dubbed him as ‘Yellow’ for now. His other companion was also a bit strange. He wore a hood with different shades of brown on the sleeves and a solid beige in the middle. He had hhis hood up and it was a teal color, he had two hatchets secured around his waist. His face was covered like the other two, though instead of a mask he wore a mouthguard and orange goggles. I dubbed him as ‘Goggles’. They both looked vaguely familiar, like one of the people from my nightmares but my brain was far too cloudy to try and remember which nightmares they had appeared in.

My head was pounding, my tears blurring my visions. I turned my head to look at my classmates lined up with me. I was at the end of the line next to a boy with black hair. I think his name was Christian? Something along those lines. He was taller than me, pale too, with dark eyes and darker eyebags. I didn’t know him too well though. He looked more terrified than me. His eyes were wide and his breathing was heavy as he stared at the three men. I couldn’t see past Christian to see my other classmates, but I assumed we were all in relatively the same state. I turned back to look at the men when there was a sudden loud knocking on our door. I whipped my head to face the door, seeing Goggles rush over quickly and open it. 

I had to hold back a scream.


	4. Fear Runs Thick

There stood another creature from my nightmares, clad in all black, the only color he wore came from the deep blue mask on his face. He was one of my worst nightmares. I choked out a sob, trying to keep myself quiet as he walked into the room. Goggles and the man in black walked over to Yellow and the masked man. They were all talking quietly to each other, pointing at each of us as if we were lab rats. I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the shuffling of my fellow students. Their quiet sobbing and unheard whispers sounding unbearably loud in my mind. I only half wished they didn’t have masks, though my other half was thankful. Masks meant you had a chance of getting away, like the Texarkana Killer. No mask means there isn’t even a chance of being set free since you saw their face. However, the four masked men would’ve been much easier to read without masks. It was a battle between survival and escape and either side would be impossible to beat. 

I realized I had been staring off in the distance for far too long when the class had gone silent. I looked towards Christian, following his line of sight to the men standing there. They were all lined up across from us. Silently staring. I could still feel the tears pouring down my face and their frightful stares helped very little when it came to stopping the flow. They appeared to be waiting for something though what it was I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t help but shudder from the blank stares, the men’s various face coverings concealing any possible meaning or motive they may have held. I twisted my wrists uncomfortably within their bindings. The class collectively stared at the men for what felt like an eternity before one of them stepped forward and spoke, it was the man in the tan jacket.

“It’s not like most of you are going to remember this, but I’m telling you anyway so that the ones who do won’t resist. You are not getting out of this. We have the building surrounded by others, there is no way to contact the authorities, and there certainly isn’t a way for you to muscle past us. If you try it, you are dead.” He stated. His voice was dull but full of power. It was medium and much more gravelly than I had expected. I had never heard the man speak in my dreams either, so I had no picture to frame his voice in. He looked across all of us, the subtle turning of his head barely visible through both the darkness and the tears in my eyes. He then turned back to his comrades, nodding his head at them. I was utterly terrified as to what that meant. 

His nod seemed to set something off outside of the room as the lights flickered on and off repeatedly for a few seconds. It was weird. A few of my classmates shrieked from the sudden flashing. All I could do was twist in my bonds and attempt to make myself as small as possible, panic surging through me as a thought sprang into my mind. 

‘Was that some kind of signal?’ 

Even if it was what exactly would they be signaling for?

Could it have been the lights? I tried to think for a moment, trying to punch fear from my mind. To find some sort of pattern in their actions but I couldn’t. Adrenaline had frazzled my brain, I felt fried. Like my skin was buzzing.  
Buzzing…

That was when I heard it. The TV on Mrs. Ellison’s wall was buzzing loudly with static. I wasn’t sure what it meant exactly, but I felt it was significant. The television didn’t have proper access to cable, there was no way they could’ve gotten it into a static screen? A pre-recorded video?

I was once again interrupted by a series of footsteps approaching the class lined up on the wall. I blinked a few times, shaking myself out of my thoughts. I needed to ground myself, something, anything to keep me here in the present moment so I could try and escape. The footsteps got louder, they were bold, familiar but only in the sense of a distant memory. I didn’t dare to look up and find out their source.  
I knew looking around was a bad idea, so that eliminated the sights and sounds technique. Counting colors also would’ve been bad. I went to my last resort, breathing in deeply and raising my head. Fake it ‘till you make it. 

I kept track of my breathing, staring at the intruders before me. Immediately I could feel my façade crack but I wouldn’t let go that easily. No, I had to face them, I had to get home, to see my mom again. I couldn’t let them win.   
I looked for the source of the footsteps, finding them rather quickly. It was Goggles and the eyeless man. The eyeless man was going around to the people in the classroom, forcing them still with an injection to the neck. I gulped, watching him. He had quite a few syringes. Goggles was helping hold the students still while they received their injection. In the dark it looked like a clear liquid, though I thought I saw it change colors once for one kid's neck. He was getting closer, moving further down the line. I stared at the both of them, focusing more on Goggles, he was slightly less scary to look at, despite his strange twitching. They continued to get closer, arriving three people away from me.

At this point, my brain finally had enough. Kicking out over analysis and instead letting irrationality flood through me. I was tempted to free myself of the zipties, not caring about the words of the masked man. If I could get away, even for a moment, it may be enough. I twisted my wrists silently, tears still streaming down my face. They were only two people away. I needed to act. I couldn’t be too obvious but at the same time I couldn’t make it too obvious. Another idea popped into my head at that moment. I wiggled my ankles a tad. 

They were unbound.

I suppose I’d have to thank god for small miracles, but I still had to get away first. I waited, silently shifting my wrists. It’d be better to have arms and legs, but I’d take what I could get.  
Finally, the two reached Christian. The boy directly next to me. I didn’t think it was possible for his eyes to grow wider, but they did. It looked like they were going to pop out of his skull.

The eyeless man pulled out his syringe, filled with a strange yellow-ish liquid. It looked nasty. I assumed it was some powerful narcotic or opioid. Something to make us pass out instantaneously. Then again, the masked man had said most of use wouldn’t remember this. That must’ve been the purpose, but had he injected everyone with the yellow liquid? I thought it had been white before. A trick of the light?

I didn’t have time to think further on it before Goggles and the eyeless man put the syringe away. Stepping closer to me. I started shaking, it felt like ice had sank into the very pit of my soul. I inhaled again. Fake it ‘till you make it. I told myself.

They were in front of me now, with the eyeless man getting out his supplies. This was my chance. Goggles stood still, waiting for the other to be prepared before restraining me. I took one more breath, watching as the syringe filled with the strange yellow liquid. They both started approaching me, Goggles reaching out to grab my wrists.

I initiated my plan.

I kicked at the both of them. Thrashing wildly. I managed to knock the syringe out of the eyeless man’s hand. My sudden display of action surprised them both enough to prevent them from grabbing me. I jumped up, adrenaline pumping harder than before. I knew this was stupid, that I would probably regret it, but I wasn’t in control anymore. I had to do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHH I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. Midterms kicked my fucking assssssssssssssssssss. They made us take it after winter break too so it was really hard. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (and yes the title was inspired by Macbeth, what of it?)
> 
> I really like cliffhangers if you couldn't tell :))))


	5. You Shouldn't Have Done That...

Before I knew it, I was out the door and running down the hall. The blood rushing to my ears making it impossible to tell if I was being followed or not. I kept running, the brick walls felt like they extended into eternity. I made a left, coming into a larger portion of the building. The front entrance. I hid behind the lip of the hallway, checking behind me to make sure I hadn’t been followed.  
I hadn’t, thank the gods. 

I peeked around the corner, examining my surroundings. I was just next to the stairwell, the large circular base connecting to the actual staircases, the front doors across from the base. There was an adjourning hallway next to me, causing a fork. Both the door and the stairs however, were guarded by more terrifying figures. I didn’t look long enough to get details on their appearance, afraid of letting them see me.

I leaned back against the wall, hands clamped over my mouth to muffle my breathing, hot tears burning my face as they continue to fall down my face. I couldn’t get out, going upstairs wasn’t an option, so what else was there? The bathroom! In the hallway next to me, I knew there were several bathrooms. Only problem, how many intruders were there in that hallway? I checked behind me again, attempting to be sure that no one was there, still no one. I almost let out a sigh of relief before hearing footsteps from behind me. I turned, seeing black shoes come around the corner. The shoes were attached to striped leggings, the leggings to black shorts, bandages wrapped around the figure's torso, suspenders going up them, only to be hidden by large feathered shoulders. When I saw his face I stepped back. Seeing the long pointed nose, pale white skin, dark eyes and evil, shark like grin. The figure raised their hand, waving their sharp black claws too close to my face. I felt another surge of adrenaline pass through me as the being wrapped hand around my throat. Lifting me in the air to meet its eyes, I was easily two feet off the ground.  
“Why hello there,” the clown said to me, its shrill voice scraping my eardrums like knives. I winced, feeling more pressure on my throat. “None of you are supposed to be out in the hallways,” he raised a claw to my face, tracing a line down my cheek. It was soft at first but when he got to my jawline he pressed hard, causing blood to pool out. I winced again. I watched as his eyes grew wide at the sight of blood, it made me more nervous than I already had been, if that was even possible.   
The clown kept poking and prodding at my face. Squeezing my neck harder every few seconds. My breathing became more labored as each second passed until I felt like I was suffocating from something other than the claws around my throat. It couldn’t have been more than a minute before survival mode kicked back in and I started to grasp and scratch the claws around my neck. I kicked my legs out, trying desperately to hit the clown anywhere it would hurt. I thrashed wildly, using my strength to get him to lose his grip. I could feel it working as the clown tried to force my legs to stop kicking. I didn’t though. I couldn’t. I had to get out of his hold.  
I slowly peeled one of his long, pointed claws off my neck. The digit pointed in the air. I went with the first idea that came to me and bit down hard on the clown's claw, not caring if I bit his finger off or not. 

The sudden shock of pain in his finger caused him to yelp and let go of my neck, dropping me to the floor. I heaved air in and out of my lungs, not wasting a second before I ran down the adjacent hallway. I kept running, making a turn left down another hallway before rushing into the bathroom and closing the door behind me. I pressed on the door with all my weight, listening as footsteps ran by. I didn’t let go, not even after I stopped hearing footsteps. I looked at the door handle, noticing the deadbolt directly underneath it. I quickly locked the door, praying to whatever was out there that the bolt held. I turned around, pressing my back to the door and sinking to the ground. My head resided between my knees as I held myself, rocking on the floor. I let the tears flow, hoping that my knees muffled my sobs as I let everything out. The initial shock finally washed away as it fully hit me.

The monsters in my dreams are real. They are coming for me and my friends. There is nothing I can do to stop them and I am screwed. I knew eventually they were gonna find me, break down the door, and kill me. Like the man in the tan jacket had threatened. That thought made me cry harder, sobs wracking my entire body as I shook. It can’t end like this. I can’t die like this. I have to say bye to my mom, I have to live, I can’t just die. I gripped my legs even tighter, nails poking into my legs, on the verge of drawing blood. 

.

After what felt like an eternity I could no longer cry. I was out of tears. Dehydrated. The salt had dried to my face as well as the snot. I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking as I stood, using the door for support. I took a shaky step forward into the bathroom, holding the wall. The light blue tiles were smooth and matte. The yellow light illuminating the bathroom dully. I made my way to the sink, turning on the faucet and splashing the water on my face. Once I got the crust of dried snot and tears off my face I turned the water off. Running my hands through my hair I stared in the mirror. I was wrecked. My eyes were bloodshot, cheeks pallid, the bags under my eyes looked purple. I rubbed my face a few times before turning to face the rest of the bathroom. I went through, checking the stalls for anything useful. An abandoned backpack, a pencil, forgotten phone, anything. I knew no one was in there. If there was they would’ve gotten me by now.

I made my way to the last stall. The handicap stall. I pushed the door open, hearing the hinges scream furiously. I cringed at the sound. As I walked into the stall, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing helpful either. I stepped further in, figuring I could at least hide better in a stall than in the open restroom. I shut the door behind me, locking it. Immediately afterwards the lights start to flicker, I turn to unlock the door and am immediately shocked by the metal bolt. I step back, looking around in fear. Last time the lights flickered the masked man had given a signal. Could this be another? Had they found me? I looked around, circling the stall like a tiger in a cage. I had my arms crossed over my chest. Fear rushing through me all over again until I hit something… soft? I looked at what I had bumped into, fabric? Green fabric at that. I looked further up, seeing someone floating in front of me. I stepped back in shock. The person (ghost?) in front of me wore a green tunic and looked like something from an RPG. I looked at his face, seeing his dark eyes, blood trailing down his face. His smile was sinister, his teeth gleamed unnaturally. I didn’t like it one bit.

I stepped back until I hit the wall of the stall. The floating boy didn’t move, just continued smiling at me. My shaking worsened and I couldn’t stop myself from whispering quietly “No, no, no, please. I don’t wanna die.” This only made him chuckle. His shoulders shaking, his smile unwavering. His voice was modulated, unnatural, almost robotic. He stared at me when done, smile gone. Somehow I felt that was worse than the smile being there in the first place.

The being lowered himself to the ground, hands tucked behind his back. He stepped towards me, reaching one arm out to me. I pressed myself harder into the wall, half hoping I could just disappear. I didn’t. He kept approaching, I could see the electricity crackling between his fingers.

“You know, you’re very lucky that you’re one of the selected. Otherwise you’d be dead where you stand,” the oscillation in his voice ever present, he almost sounded pixelated, ”You really shouldn’t have run away. It pissed off quite a few people, kid.” He was close enough to touch me now. I turned my head away, scared to look at him.

“Now of course, I’ll have to take you back where you need to be. Don’t worry though. When you wake up you won’t be in too much trouble. The boss thinks this is enough for now.” He grinned evilly. No longer a smirk but a full-on evil smile. I didn’t have any time to think about what he said before his eclectic hands were around my neck.

I could feel the electricity shoot through my entire body. The pain intensified every passing second. It hurt so bad I couldn’t see anymore. I could feel my limbs shaking from the rapid muscle contraction. My entire body was on fire as the electricity surged through me. He gripped my throat tighter, cutting off my air supply. I couldn’t even fight back.

He only laughed as I continued to shake. Dropping me to the floor. My muscles twitched rapidly as the pain continued to flood my entire body. He leered over me, staring down at me as my eyes rolled into my head and I passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAT'S RIGHT! I'M BACK! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know I'm not the most consistent with updating but I swear I'm trying. <3 Sorry it's a little shorter than usual. :)


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